"Ils doivent avoir des livres."

Translation: They have to have books.

[alannakdennis]

I hate the pronunciation. Like a lot.

[emmilennia]

The translation of this reads "they have to have books," but in a previous exercise in this lesson, I was marked wrong for translating "je dois vous dire" as "I have to talk to you." The correct answer was "I must talk to you." So I expected to see "they must have books" here. Nope!

I don't understand the difference. I'm okay with being wrong (happens a lot), but is a distinction at work that I don't see, or is this an inconsistency that perhaps needs reporting?

[Sitesurf]

"ils doivent avoir des livres" can indeed translate to "they must have books".

By the way, "je dois vous dire" = "I have to tell you" or "I must tell you"

I have to talk to you = je dois te/vous parler (+ il faut que je te/vous parle).

[emmilennia]

Thank you!

[hammellj]

Would it not be acceptable to say "They have to get books", as well?

[Wunel]

Sadly, no. Getting and having are different concepts.

[arhbaum]

Then why is avoir used in other exercises for "getting an apple" if it can only mean "have" and not "get"?

[runninground]

I like these people!

[RussKingho]

Why isn't "They must have..." correct? It means exactly the same as "They have to have..." in standard usage of English!

[Sitesurf]

"They must have books" is an accepted translation.

[maryamfard1]

No it was not

[.Darth.Solo.]

this is true!!!!

[PeterDolma]

Why is "They are supposed to have books" not work here? Is it not the same thing?

[Sitesurf]

Not necessarily, because "devoir" has several meanings.

"They are supposed to have books" exactly back translates to "ils/elles sont censés avoir des livres".

With the verb "devoir", you would need a conditional mood for the same meaning: "ils/elles devraient avoir des livres".

[Trixieman]

Should one be able to distinguish between "Il doit" and "Ils doivent" or do they sound the same?

[Sitesurf]

In plural, you should hear the V as the last consonant sound.

il doit = dwa
ils doivent = dwaV

[nectarivorous]

Ils sont une bibliothèque.

[michaelsobsey55]

They must have the books. Incorrect?

[penny776032]

Well I'm happy because I tried 'they've got to have some books ' and it was accepted. 'got to' being rather more in use in UK I thought it would flop, but no.

[schiky]

Why not need to have the books.
It means the same right?

[Sitesurf]

"Des livres" translates to "books" or "some books".

"The books" is the translation for "les livres".